Iran's leader calls for TV debate with Bush  —  Adjust font size:  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on U.S. President George W. Bush to participate in a "direct television debate with us," so Iran can voice its point of view on how to end world predicaments.

Rumsfeld: Terrorists Manipulating Media  —  FALLON NAVAL AIR STATION, Nev. (AP) — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday he is deeply troubled by the success of terrorist groups in "manipulating the media" to influence Westerners.  —  "That's the thing that keeps me up at night …

Fauxtography: The incredible disappearing Katie (Update: Innocent explanation?)  (Bumped)  —  She's on the Adnan Hajj diet.  Try it and watch the pounds melt away from your waist and neck.  —  Unfortunate side effect of the Adnan Hajj diet: your chin is sharpened to the point where it can cut glass.

Ex-Colleague Says Armitage Was Source of CIA Leak  —  The leak of information about an undercover CIA employee that provoked a special prosecutor's investigation of senior White House officials came from then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage, according to a former Armitage colleague at the department.

Hefley ponders run at seat as write-in  —  Rep. Joel Hefley is seriously considering running as a writein candidate to retain his seat rather than risk handing it over to Republican nominee Doug Lamborn.  —  In meetings with national political consultants, Hefley and his supporters have come …

Perry calls special election for DeLay's unexpired term  —  AUSTIN — Republican Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday called a Nov. 7 special election to temporarily fill the seat left vacant when former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay resigned.  —  DeLay, a Republican whose term would have expired in January, resigned in June.

Karr Cleared in JonBenet Case — After Media Frenzy  —  NEW YORK After two weeks of frenzied and often jump-to-conclusions media coverage, Colorado prosecutors on Monday dropped their case against John Mark Karr over the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey.  —  Prosecutors threw out the case …

MyDD House Forecast 2006  —  Note: We are looking for an organization to sponsor this forecast, which will allow us to put it into nice-looking html.  If your organization or company wants to sponsor what will probably be the most viewed House forecast in the nation this year, please contact me at chris@mydd.com.

Address at the 88th Annual American Legion National Convention  —  Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Salt Lake City, Utah, Tuesday, August 29, 2006  —  Tom [American Legion Commander Tom Bock], I understand that your son is flying a Chinook in Iraq …

The Glenn & Helen Show: Richard Posner on Terrorism and the Constitution  —  With the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks coming up, we thought we'd talk to law professor and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner, whose latest book, Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution …

Volcanic Ash  —  A totally independent, slightly irreverent and hopelessly idealistic view of people and events in Hawai'i and beyond.  David Shapiro has covered Hawai'i and national news for 38 years as a reporter, editor and columnist.  —  Reach David at volcanicash@gmail.com.

A Victory Lap for Broken Promises … One year ago as Katrina menaced the Gulf Coast, I'm ashamed to admit that selfish thoughts ruled my mind.  As I kept up with the news and weather reports, I wondered if I would ever again be able to visit the scene of so many semi-collegiate drunken nights …

The Conservative Case Against Rudy Giuliani In 2008  —  Rudy Giuliani, a contender for the Presidency in 2008, is receiving an inordinate amount of positive attention.  That's quite understandable since Rudy is charismatic, did a great job on the campaign trail for President Bush in 2004 …

ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE LEAVES REUTERS AMBULANCE IN FLAMES, CHOPPED, CHANNELED  —  QANA, LEBANON - Israeli Defense Forces face fresh charges of war atrocities today, as international press agency Reuters released stark photos showing the devastation caused by a daylight IDF missile attack on a clearly marked Reuters press ambulance.

The Bright Light of Public Scrutiny  —  Last week, I blogged on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, S. 2590, a crucial step towards fixing the federal government's spending problem.  S. 2590 would create a single, easily searchable database capable of tracking approximately $1 trillion …

Reuters van attack: 70mm unguided rocket?  —  So I e-mailed Noah Shachtman of Defense Tech and asked him to look at the photo of the Reuters van that was hit by the IAF in hopes of identifying what ordnance they used.  While conceding that the damage looked "strange, strange," …

Assembly approves universal health care  —  Passage of bill seen as election-year test for Schwarzenegger  —  (08-29) 04:00 PDT Sacramento — The Democratic-controlled Legislature is on the verge of sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would create a state-run universal health care system …

Slowly Sidling To Iraq's Exit  —  Many GOP Candidates Part Company With Bush  —  By Election Day, how many Republican candidates will have come out against the Iraq war or distanced themselves from the administration's policies?  —  August 2006 will be remembered as a watershed in the politics of Iraq.